Traditional film production techniques usually involve the shooting of multiple video or film `takes` or `clips`. Normally much more film is shot than is required for the final result. The resultant film is normally edited by a film editor who uses scissor like splicers and adhesive tape to cut and paste the desired shots together. Artistic decisions about the selection of shots to enhance the performance are made and a final result produced.
If dissolves or wipes are required between two sources, then the processing becomes much more complicated, often involving the use of multiple video recorders and vision switchers.
Although editing and mixing can be implemented on a frame by frame basis, it is desirable to be able to format the editing/production process with what is known in the industry as a "storyboard". The storyboard represents a plan of the film video or animation that is to be created and assists in the visualization of the production. Storyboards are traditionally created by hand, going through many interactions and revisions during production and is basically a chart of various sources of audio/video and how they are to be combined over time to produce the final film. Furthermore, as a director, or the like may wish to alter the production once an initial storyboard has been created, it is highly desirable that the storyboard itself be readily editable.
Recently, computer systems have been introduced which go part of the way to automate this process. Typically, these systems require animations to be created on a frame by frame basis, saving each frame to disk, with the image being played back at a later date by reading each frame off the disk and displaying it on a computer screen or the like.
Recently, in Australian Patent Application No. 38238/93 (Attorney Ref: (RTO1)(224857)), entitled "An Audio and Video Processor System", claiming priority from Australian Provisional Patent No. PL2141 filed 29th April, 1992, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by cross-reference, a video animation system was proposed that was capable of producing real-time video animation through the use of real-time object (RTO) technology. That document, and other co-related documents describe apparatus that can perform audio and video mixing, editing, sampling, and the like at a substantially reduced cost than that of prior art arrangements. For a discussion of RTO technology, the reader is referred to Australian Patent Application No. 38244/93 (Attorney Ref: (RTO7)(202788)), entitled "A Real-Time Object Based Graphics System" claiming priority from Australian Provisional Patent No. PL2147, filed 29th April, 1992, the contents of which are hereby disclosed by cross-reference.
Australian Patent Application No. 53184/94, corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/181,247, entitled "Storyboard System for the Simultaneous Timing of Multiple Independent Video Animation Clips" claiming priority from Australian Provisional Patent No. PL6835, filed 29th April, 1992 and filed simultaneously herewith, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by cross-reference discloses an automated storyboard system capable of editing, ordering and timing multiple simultaneous portions of animation or video source information.
Hence there exists a general need for a system capable of taking audio and/or video source information and rendering it in real time on an audio and video processing system (AVAPS) such as that disclosed in the abovementioned patent application.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automated storyboard mechanism capable of the automated rendering of multiple video clips on a audio and video animation processor system to produce real time video animation.